Many cooking appliances incorporate electronic controls that allow the user to specify desired cooking parameters to a more precise degree. For example, ovens, ranges, and microwaves have been developed to incorporate programmable features that allow a user to input certain cooking information, such as cooking modes, weights, times, and temperatures. For instance, some microwaves invite the user to input what is being cooked, whether it is being defrosted or not, and how much the item weighs. This allows the microwave to deliver the proper amount of energy to perform the programmed cooking operation.
There have also been other advances in oven technology. For example, ovens are being designed that are able to use more than one energy source to cook food, particularly in the commercial setting. (Examples of such ovens are shown and described by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,958,274 and 6,486,453, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated here by reference.) In other words, whereas most ovens cook using one form of energy, e.g., a stove top, a range, a microwave, or a toaster oven, many commercial ovens have been developed that use, for example, both hot air convention and microwave energy to cook a food item much more rapidly. Such ovens may be referred to in this document as rapid cook ovens, speed cook ovens, or multi-energy source ovens. The use of varied energy sources allows the oven to use the combination of energy to cook food quickly, but without sacrificing taste and quality.
For example, there may be instances when steaming can be used in connection with a convention oven. Such ovens can steam and bake at the same time—anywhere from seconds to minutes. However, these ovens are not necessarily optimized to a residential setting. They are also often designed for the particular food being cooked and/or they are provided with a limited number of options that relate to the food item to be cooked, e.g., steam and/or convention cook an item, so there is typically minimal adjusting that needs to be done in the commercial setting. However, because residential ovens that use more than one energy source are expected to become more common in the future, allowing homeowners to bake casseroles, roast turkeys, and broil chicken much more quickly, there is a need for a more user-friendly interface that allows for a variety of cooking options. The options should not be reminiscent of their commercial counterparts, but should provide a sophisticated, yet user-friendly, screen and interface.
There is accordingly a need for a system that prompts the user to input certain cooking information, a screen that only offers options that relate to the previous choices that have been made, a knob or other controller that allows the selection process to be simple, and an oven than can then control the cooking appliance to perform the desired operation. There is also a need for a system that allows a user to change cooking options once cooking recommendations have been made, a system that prompts the user to check the food once cooking is nearing completion to allow for any alterations to the cooking parameters that may need to be made, and a system that allows the user to save specific cooking instructions that have been altered from the recommended settings. There is a further need for an oven that can download additional cooking parameters, recipes, or changes from a multitude of sources (e.g., from a manufacturer's website) via a multitude of communication methods (e.g., wireless, internet, bluetooth, wired communication, or in any other way that devices may communicate.) It may also be desirable to provide a feature that allows a user to upload information from his/her oven to a website, a disc, or any other information holding device or area.